Our take: Last chance to save the Hoke House?

Some residents are concerned that Rutter's will knock down the Hoke House. York County Commissioner Doug Hoke will meet with company officials Monday. ( File)

The bottom line is the bottom line. And the bottom line for preserving the historic Hoke House in Spring Grove -- among the oldest structures in York County -- ranges from $690,000 to renovate it and bring it up to code to $12 million to $15 million to establish an endowment to maintain the property in perpetuity.

At this point, the money is not available. And time is running out on efforts to save the historic stone home.

Demolition could proceed as early as Jan. 17 unless money magically appears to save it.

That would be a shame. The house is a significant historic landmark. It dates to the mid-1700s. It stood through the revolution that created this nation and the Civil War that nearly destroyed it. It was a home and a business. It was an enduring piece of living history.

Over the years, it played many roles. In the 1960s, the Hoke family sold it to developers. At the time, the family could have placed deed or historic restrictions on the property, ensuring its preservation in exchange for a decrease of its value, but it chose not to.

The house was a tavern, a library, a doctor's office. It had been sliced up into apartments. It most recently had housed a carpet and tile showroom. It's been vacant for a number of years now and has fallen into disrepair -- some caused by the elements and some caused by vandals.

Rutter's Farm Stores bought the property in 2008. The property was already zoned commercial and included a large tract of land.

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Rutter's was in no hurry to demolish the building, though. And it was in no hurry to decide what to do with it.

In October, Rutter's received a letter from Spring Grove borough officials notifying the company that the building did not meet code and either had to be fixed or torn down. If the company did nothing in 90 days, it faced a $1,000-a-day fine.

The company weighed its options. Company officials said the estimate for repairs came in at $690,000, a steep investment in a building that the company has no immediate use for. The company, a generous, locally owned and community-minded organization, said the money would come from its charitable foundation and would cause its contributions to drop off -- contributions that are important to local nonprofits. Razing the building would cost $90,000.

So Rutter's applied for a demolition permit. That was on Oct. 28. The application requires an 80-day waiting period before demolition can begin on any structure built before 1940.

Rutter's said it would use that waiting period to weigh its options.

About the only option that remains remotely viable is that the company has offered to give the building to anyone who would want to move it to another location. The cost of moving such a large, stone building, though, is prohibitive.

And that's where it stands.

On Monday, York County Commissioner Doug Hoke -- yes, a descendant of the Hokes who owned the house and farm -- will meet with representatives of Rutter's to discuss the future of the property.

Rutter's is in a tough spot. The borough is in a tough spot; it doesn't want the house to further deteriorate and remain a magnet for vandals. And those interested in preserving this historic landmark are in a tough spot, not at present having the resources available to make sure the house remains standing.

Still, we have hope that all of the parties attending this meeting will come in with an open mind and with a clear desire to save the Hoke House.

If nothing else, perhaps the meeting will buy some time until a concrete preservation plan can be put in place. Perhaps the borough could back off its threat to fine Rutter's -- which appears to have forced the company's hand.

Mr. Hoke -- attending the meeting as a private citizen and not as an official representative of the county -- is well-respected in this community for his common-sense frugality. If anyone can foster preservation of this historic gem, he can.